Director of Graduate Studies Division of Animal Sciences – August 2013 - present Graduate Faculty – November 12, 2007 Doctoral Faculty – February 25, 2013
Previous Employment
University of Pennsylvania - Department of Biology Post-doctoral Researcher - January 2004-July 2007 University of Florida - Department of Animal Sciences/Reproductive Physiology
Ph.D. Student. 1999-2003. University of Florida - Department of Animal Sciences/Reproductive Physiology
Laboratory Technician/Supervisor. 1996-2003
Iowa State University - Department of Animal Science/Reproductive Physiology
Laboratory and Surgical Assistant . 991-1993
Iowa State University - College of Veterinary Medicine/Pathology Department
Society Memberships
Society for the Study of Reproduction. 1997 – present.
HONORS AND AWARDS
• University of Missouri Freshman Interest Group Co-Facilitator Spotlight Recognition.
• NIH Loan Repayment Program- Contraception and Infertility Research. 2013-2015 • Undergraduate Research Mentor Award - University of Missouri Office of Undergraduate
• NIH Loan Repayment Program- Contraception and Infertility Research. 2010-2012 • FASEB MARC Fellow Oral Presenter Travel Awardee to participate in the 39th Annual
Society for the Study of Reproduction Meeting. 2006.
• Sigma Xi - The Scientific Research Society, Graduate Student Research Award
• Elected as a member of Gamma Sigma Delta, the Agriculture Honor Society. 2004 • University of Florida Department of Animal Sciences Graduate Student of the Year – Ph.D.
• FASEB MARC Fellow Poster Presenter Travel Awardee to participate in the 36th Annual
Society for the Study of Reproduction Meeting. 2003
• Ruska Award Recipient for outstanding student presentation in electron microscopy -
Southeastern Electron Microscopy Society. 2002
• FASEB MARC Fellow Poster Presenter Travel Awardee to participate in the 35th Annual
Society for the Study of Reproduction Meeting. 2002.
• USDA National Research Initiative Fellow - Presented at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the
Society for the Study of Reproduction. 2000
• Superior Accomplishment Award Recipient – USPS Scientific/Technical, University of
Florida Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences. 1999.
• Elected as a member of the Florida Chapter of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society.
• Nominated for Work-Study employee of the year at Iowa State University. 1994. • Recipient of St Jude’s Scholarship (St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Student Center – Ames,
RESEARCH Summary of Research Interest The research conducted in my laboratory aims at understanding the mechanisms whereby manipulations of mammalian gametes and embryos result in alterations of the epigenome. The laboratory is currently engaged in several research projects;
1) Use of an animal overgrowth syndrome to study the etiology of Beckwith-Wiedemann
2) Effect of the use of assisted reproductive technologies and high caloric diet on
cardiovascular performance in juvenile offspring.
3) Determination of the effects of superovulation on the acquisition on DNA methylation in
4) Determination of global DNA methylation profiles in full-grown oocytes in aged and young
5) Identification of the cell type in preimplantation embryos that express H19 from both
Past, Present and Future Research Collaborators:

• Dr. Luis Martinez-Lemus - Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology,
University of Missouri – Project: The Effect of Maternal High Fat Diet and ART on Cardiovascular Outcome in Offspring.
• Dr. Laura Schulz – Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Missouri
School of Medicine. Project: The Effect of Maternal High Fat Diet and ART on Cardiovascular Outcome in Offspring.
• Dr. Tieming Ji – Department of Statistics, University of Missouri. Project: The Effect of
Maternal High Fat Diet and ART on Cardiovascular Outcome in Offspring.
• Dr. Darren Hagen - Division of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri. Project:
Identification of differential gene expression in ART and control day 105 bovine concepti
• Dr. Rajendra Kumar - Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology University of
Kansas Medical Center, University of Kansas. Project: DNA methylation in oocytes from aged females.
• Dr. Kevin Wells – Division of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri. Project -
Establishment of a phenotypical model of adverse outcomes associated with ART
• Dr. Mariano Buffone, Instituto de Biologia y Medicina Experimental (CONICET)” in
Buenos Aires, Argentina. Project: Heterogeneous distribution of histone methylation in mature human sperm.
• Dr. Kathy Timms - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Missouri
School of Medicine. Project: Genomic imprinting in endometriosis
• Dr. Zvi Roth - Department of Animal Sciences The Faculty of Agriculture The Hebrew
University of Jerusalem. Effect of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate on the epigenome of bovine oocytes.
• Dr. Paolo Rinaudo - Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility University of California San
Francisco. Project: Effect of Substrate Stiffness on Early Embryo Development.
• Dr. Xu Han - Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. University of Missouri. New
technology to freeze mammalian gametes and embryos.
• NICHHD: 1R21HD062920-01 - September 2010 - August 2012. At extension stage until
Project Title: Establishment of a phenotypical model of adverse outcomes associated Role = Principal InvestigatorIntramural • USDA Multistate Project No: W2171 - Title: Germ Cell and Embryo Development and
Manipulation for the Improvement of Livestock. Role = Participant
• University of Missouri Research Board - August 2009 - November 2010. $42,000
Project Title: Effects of assisted reproduction on genomic imprinting in bovine embryos. Role = Principal Investigator.
• University of Missouri Research Council - November 2010 - November 2011. $7,500.
Project Title: Is Biallelic Expression of the Imprinted Gene H19 in Preimplantation Mouse Embryos the Result of a Molecular Clock Rather than Embryo Manipulation? Role = Principal Investigator. PRESENTATIONS Invited Research Talks

Rivera, RM, Youngs, CR, Ford, SP. 1996. A comparison of the number of inner cell mass and trophectoderm cells of preimplantation Meishan and Yorkshire pig embryos at similar developmental stages. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 106:111-116 Abstracts

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